Love in the Wind
by CartoonNerd12
Summary: A bit of a corny title for a pony version of Rio, to be sure, but it's the best I could come up with. A SoarinDash fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Love in the Wind

"Today's a big day. Are you ready, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked as she was on her castle balcony looking up to see Rainbow doing air flips.

"Heck, yeah! I was born ready!"

"You're not nervous?"

"I was more nervous when I had to take the test to get in!"

"True… So if you're ready, we'll get going then." She opened her alicorn wings and flew down to the ground. Rainbow followed her and saw their friends coming over to say goodbye.

"Good luck, Rainbow Dash!" said Rarity.

"Darn tootin'! You'll be the best flyer they ever saw!" pointed Apple Jack.

"I know you'll do great…" said Fluttershy.

Pinkie jumped up and down and then tackled Rainbow, giving her a huge hug, "Don't forget about us!"

Rainbow was nearly choking, "Like… I will…"

Twilight giggled while she acted like the crowbar to get Rainbow loose, "All right, Pinkie, let go. We'll be back before you know it."

With final goodbyes, the pegasus and alicorn went to the train station.

"I still don't understand why you need a personal guard just for inspecting the Wonderbolt Reserves." Rainbow pointed.

"It's protocol, so Princess Cadence was kind enough to lend me Flash."

"Oh…" grinning slyly, "Not Sir Sentry?"

"I mean…" blushing beet red.

"Ha! You have it so bad!"

"Just… please don't say anything…"

"Relax, your secret is safe with me. Hey, it's the least I can do since you helped me into the Reserves in the first place."

"Thanks…" they stopped at the station where the train from the Crystal Empire was fast approaching.

The train screeched to a halt and the car doors opened to reveal a guard wearing golden armor. He went to the mares and bowed to Twilight.

"Your Highness."

"Rise, Sir Sentry, and hence known, you shall call me Twilight. Or if necessary, Princess."

"As you wish…" giving off a smile, she slightly blushed.

Rainbow had to clear her throat to break their gaze, "Um, Twi? Should we go?"

"Of course! Flash, could you…"

"My pleasure." he opened his wings and took off with Twilight and Rainbow.

The Wonderbolt Academy was straight ahead. The runway already had pegsi lining up to face the three main Wonderbolts: Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Soarin'. Rainbow quickly flew in to join the line. Spitfire noticed this and eyed Dash.

"You're late." she said in her authoritarian tone.

"Yes, Ma'am! Sorry, Ma'am." Rainbow replied, "Twenty laps to make up tardiness, Ma'am!"

"At ease. We'll let it slide on the first day. But be on time for the rest!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" she saluted.

By then, Flash and Twilight flew in.

"Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Flash announced.

The rest of the pegsi, including the Wonderbolts, bowed in respect.

"Now," Spitfire turned back to the group, "the princess is here to make sure we didn't make the mistake of letting you be Wonderbolt Reserves. You are graduates of the Wonderbolt Academy and you have passed the History of the Wonderbolts test with flying colors. However, that was only the first step of becoming Wonderbolts; foal steps, really! The next part of training will be long and hard. Are you up to the challenge?!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the group shouted with pride.

"Wrong! You'll only be up to it if you can actually do it! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" they shouted again.

"Good. Hit the mess hall for dinner, then I want you to hit the sack, cause tomorrow, we start at dawn! Dismiss!"

The group saluted as the Wonderbolts made their way to their office building. Twilight quickly went over to Rainbow Dash.

"I'll see you in the morning."

"See ya. Oh, and Twi? You're not going to try and give me special treatment, are you?"

"Me? No way! You can handle this all on your own."

"Good. I don't want the Wonderbolts thinking I needed your help or anything."

"Want me to stay away from you until the inspection is over?"

"That'd be great."

"I'll do that, then. I better go now; I need to meet with the Wonderbolts on progress reports of the recruits." She and Flash went into the office building as Rainbow went to the mess hall. Unaware some pony was watching from afar…

Twilight sat across from Spitfire's desk magically looking at files of the Wonderbolt Reserves recruits. She could see that Rainbow had the best resume around with winning the Best Flyer contest, graduating with honors from the academy, and passing the History of the Wonderbolts test with a hundred percent! It surprised her that the Wonderbolts hadn't taken Rainbow Dash in sooner.

Flash was offered a cup of hot chocolate by Soarin' and took it. "Thanks." he said while sipping it.

"Yeah, Soarin' loves his hot coca." said Fleetfoot.

"We can't get him away from it." Spitfire jokily said.

"Hmm…" observed Twilight as she thought, _Just like Rainbow with apple cider…_

"Very funny…" grumbled Soarin', and then contently sipped his cup.

Soarin' came into view of binoculars when he was next to the window. A huge white pegasus stallion with sleek blond hair put down the binoculars and turned to a group of very familiar characters.

"So, is it there?" asks Dr. Caballeron.

"Yes; it's in the trophy case of Spitfire's office." replied the stallion.

"You better be right about this, Thunder Blast."

"Well, of course I'm right! I was a Wonderbolt until that happy cacky pegasus, Soarin', ruined it for me!"

"Right… So, tomorrow night, we'll sneak in and grab the Wings of Valor medal…"

"If it's going to be the very first medal the Wonderbolts ever received from Princess Celestia you're going to get, then you need a better way to get the medal without it being noticed as missing for days… I have an idea, but we wait until the moment is right…"

The minute dawn rose by Celestia, a bugle over a speaker play a reveille, waking the recruits. Twilight heard the call in her guest room, but she merely turned her head and groaned. Luckily as inspector of the Reserves, she could go see the training anytime she wanted. She went back to sleep.

Rainbow and the rest were lined up on the runway and then saluted when the captains arrived.

"At ease," pointed Spitfire, "so far, the princess is impressed by your past performances and will proceed with training. Now… give me fifty laps around the course!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" they yelled then took off, flying at high speed.

Twilight gave out a yawn as she headed out the room door, only to be surprised to see Flash guarding outside.

"Flash, what… uh, what are you doing up so early?"

"As your personal guard on this assignment, I have to make sure that the princess is well-protected…" saying that with sincerity in his tone.

Twilight felt her cheeks redden, "Well, um… I don't really need protection…"

"I know… you and your friends are the protectors of Equestria as it is. Why would you?"

"But it is sweet of you following protocol… But I hate seeing you having to get up so soon just so you can follow the procedure."

"Don't worry; I'm used to it. This is what I was trained for."

She looked back to the days when Celestia first sent her to Pony-Ville to learn the importance of friendship. She was being trained then to become a princess. She smiled at him, "You're right. It's our duty…"

"I am quite flattered, though, that you cared for my well-being."

She slightly blushed, "Would you care to join me for breakfast? The hall is bound to be empty with every pony else outside."

"I'd be honored…" He took off his helmet and caused Twilight's knees to buckle. Then, they slowly went to the dining hall.

Soarin' looked at the recruits passing by with finishing the laps and saw Rainbow Dash speeding across the fastest. He couldn't help but admire her… His flashbacks of her were when he first met her for real when she saved his pie at the gala a few years back. She saved him when he injured his wing at Rainbow Falls last year. She was an amazing competitor at the Equestria Games, coming in so close to beating them.

Spitfire interrupted his thoughts when she asked, "So, any decisions on which newbie you want to train firsthand? Fleetfoot, High Winds, Lightning Streak, and Rapidfire have chosen trainees. How about you?"

He looked back and saw Rainbow land at the final lap. She was looking over her wings to make sure they were still in great shape.

"Well?" Spitfire questioned.

"Have any of them chosen Rainbow Dash?"

"No, but I was considering her for myself."

"Oh… Well, if that's how it is, then I know she will be the best student for you."

"Now, hold on. I was going to take her in if no one else did, but since you do, then she's your trainee."

"Really?"

"That kid's going to be a great Wonderbolt, no matter who teaches her."

Once the last recruit finished the lap at this point, Twilight and Flash made it to the important announcement Spitfire was giving.

"Listen up! After much deliberation, you will be trained under a Wonderbolt member and from there, you will learn everything from them. You are to listen to your commanding officer at all times! Am I understood?!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" they responded.

"To start off…" she shouted a name then the Wonderbolt's name, and the trainee went to his coach. She listed a few more names until she finally got to… "Rainbow Dash! You are to be with Soarin'!"

Rainbow was slightly stunned, but went to her new coach. She saluted him, "Sir."

He saluted back, "At ease, Cadet." He moved them to an isolated place of the training area. "We're going to try some different exercises of when not to use your wings."

"But Soarin'- I mean, Sir, isn't the point of being a Wonderbolt having to fly?"

"Yes, but sometimes, when a mission gets too hard, you need to conserve your wing energy or else you'll get too tired and cannot complete the mission at hand."

"Huh, I never thought of that…"

"Shall we begin?"

"Lets! I'm ready to learn all I need to know!"


	2. Chapter 2

"It's just one step after the other, see?" said Soarin' as he stepped on moving stepping stones on the academy's pond.

"Right, I got this." But once she stepped on the stone, she slipped right off. "Whoa!" she cried as she fell into the water.

"It's harder than it looks; you have to muster every urge not to fly."

She tittered as she got out and shook off the water, "Right! Easy peasy…"

"Let's try something else in the meantime to strengthen those unused reflexes in your legs." Then, he moved her to a set of monkey bars and asked, "Think you can get across without flying?"

"Hey, yeah!" But once she put her hooves on the bars and tried going a few over, she slipped, "Whoa!" she shouted as she dropped down and landed on her glute, "Ow…" she groaned as she rubbed it.

"Maybe it's time to come to terms that you never have once had not to do anything without your wings."

She sighed, "It's true… Flying is what I live for; I didn't have to do anything without my wings."

"Until now… but don't worry. You're not the first rookie who had to deal with this problem. I had it, too."

"You did?"

"Sure did; I love flying and I thought these were pointless exercises too until I found out that flying is not always the right answer to everything I do."

"How can I get better, Coach?"

"The only way we know how to: practice. Every morning, I want you to do sit-ups, then work at the monkey bars, do some long jumps, and then the stones. By then, I think you'll be ready for the challenge I have planned for you."

"A challenge?! Awesome! What is it?"

"See that flag pole?"

"The academy flag pole? What about it?"

"You are going to have to climb up there and grab the flag. Think you can handle that?"

"You know it!"

"Let us start then."

A montage happened with Rainbow waking up at dawn and doing the training that consisted of sit-ups, monkey bars, long jumps, and stepping stones. With each passing day, she got better.

Rainbow fell to Soarin's feet, panting after doing a set of stones, "How am I doing…Coach?"

"I think you're ready."

"Yes!" she flew up in excitement, only to realize what she did, "Oops…" she blushed as she got back down.

In mere moments, they were at the flag pole Rainbow braced herself as Soarin' watched on. On the side, Twilight and Flash were watching as well as the figure who had been watching Rainbow and Soarin' in the last week.

Caballeron asked impatiently, "Why have we waited this long? We could have struck anytime we wanted."

"Yes, but then chances are we would have been stopped all too easily. I know what Soarin' has planned next if she passes this test; by then, it will be the perfect time to strike! And this mare is a threat to my comeback. No one will pay attention to me if they're too busy looking at her! Just give it a couple more days, and then you may do as you please…"

"You can do it, Rainbow!" cheered Twilight.

"Hey! I'm trying to concentrate!"

"Sorry!"

Rainbow readied herself by putting her hooves around the pole, and then used her legs to kick up. She seemed to be doing it, but it was still hard for her to get up to the top as sweat rolled down her forehead.

Twilight said under her breath, "Come on, Rainbow…"

At last, Rainbow reached the top and grabbed the flag with her teeth! The three ponies cheered. She slid down the pole and presented Soarin' with the flag.

"Way to go, Dashie! I knew you could do it."

"Hey, what can I say? I had an awesome coach." Both turned their heads to blush.

Twilight ran up to hug her, "I'm so proud of you!"

"Twi… You promised…"

"I know, but I thought you needed the moral support."

"Well, thanks… I guess I did need a close friend nearby… That was one slippery flag pole!"

"Really?" said Soarin', "Hm, remind me to tell Spitfire to stop cleaning that thing so much, but everything's got to be spic and span at the academy." he sighed.

"You don't seem so thrilled with that…" noticed Rainbow.

"Sometimes things get a little too… boot camp around here. I wish Spitfire and Fleetfoot would have a little fun every once and while like you; you like to take things easy."

"I don't have to do if you don't want me to be."

"Are you kidding?! I would have you court-martialed if you stopped being fun!"

"Heh! Good one! Uh… that was a joke, right?" she slightly cringed.

"Of course it was! But I like your balance… knowing when to have fun and when to be serious… I thought I was the only one who did that…" They stared into each other eyes for a moment until Twilight waved her hoof in front of them.

"Uh, guys? We're still here."

Both snapped out of it and shook their heads.

"Right," Soarin' put on his commanding voice, "You did good today, Dash. Hit the showers, have some dinner, and then go straight to bed. I got a new exercise for you first thing in the morning!"

She saluted him, "Yes, Sir!"

He saluted to dismiss her, and once she had gone, he whispered to Twilight.

"Uh, you won't point this out to Spitfire, will you?"

"Don't worry… your secret is safe with us." she winked as Flash gave a nod.

"Thanks… You're… a friend of Dash's, aren't you?"

"Sure am. Oops… Maybe you shouldn't have known that…"

"Well, I actually kind of knew before you became a princess because I remember her going with you during that run-in with the Gala a few years back. You were also with her at the wedding party of Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. And legend has it you two are bearers of the famous Elements of Harmony."

"We're not so much as bearers anymore, but we still represent an Element. Rainbow is the Element of Loyalty, so I can tell you right now that whatever mission you assign to her, she will see it to the end."

"I already had seen that… I know she will not disappoint us…"

"Well, I better go check on the rest of the recruits. So far, I'm glad that everything's going so well with Rainbow Dash." She went off with Flash.

"Me, too…" Soarin' said under his breath.

Rainbow tossed and turned in the bed. Feeling conflicted, she kept telling herself, "Get a grip! I don't care what you felt in that field! You are not crushing on a Wonderbolt, let alone your mentor!" She slapped herself, "It'll never work and you know it."

In her own room, Twilight tossed and turned over her feelings for Flash Sentry. "Why should I feel this way? Oh… I wish Princess Celestia had made me learn about affections as well as friendship. Maybe that's what Cadence had to learn… Ugh, now I really wish Shining Armor and Cadence had told me how they courted while she was a princess and he was a captain of the royal guard! Did she ask him out or did he have the guts to ask her out?! I should ask him out, but what if he feels he can't, because he's just a guard as I am a princess. He might feel inferior to me…"

Soarin' felt restless, so he had to get up and open up his mini fridge in the room. He got out a piece of apple pie; he always needed to eat if something was on his mind that he couldn't get rid of so easily. "Just a few more training sessions… then when she's a Wonderbolt herself, you can ask her out… There's no rule that Wonderbolts can't date other team members. It'll seem weird now because she's my trainee as I'm her coach, but once she's promoted, bingo!" Then, he stuffed his face with the pie.

Flash couldn't sleep either and ended up pacing the floor. For the few days he's known Princess Twilight Sparkle, she was everything he could ever want in a special some pony, but how could he ask her out? They were here strictly on business. She had a job to do and it was his duty to make sure no harm came to her. How did Prince Shining Armor do it when he courted Princess Cadence, who was now his wife, and how could he do the same for Twilight? Maybe if they were alone and not in the world of politics so much, maybe that could work. He would have to think of something tomorrow and went back to bed.

"Today, we're going to try something completely different from when you weren't flying."

"Like what?"

"When you're a Wonderbolt, you're being part of a team. We almost lost sight of that when we were at Rainbow Falls, remember?"

"Sure." she slightly blushed.

"And I can't thank you enough for that, by the way. But yes, being part of the team is just as important as the flying. For this exercise," he pointed to a chain handcuff nearby, "we need to wear the chain together in order to become one pony. This is the best way for enhancing the teamwork that needs to be done in the Wonderbolts."

"Cool!"

"Ready to try it?"

"You mean… you and me? Wearing the chain?"

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?" he turned his full attention to her. While that happened, the chain handcuff got quickly switched with another chain handcuff.

"It's just… nothing, nothing at all. I'm ready, Sir."

"Okay, if you're sure…" He got the chain and put it on their hind legs, "It's just a simple exercise; we have to work together to get somewhere. It could take a few days."

"I'll do whatever you say."

"Alright, we'll start working on walking first, because it'll be hard to take off and fly. We'll just keep bumping into each other and it'll take years of practice to fly in sync when being so close to each other. Follow my lead; take it one step at a time."

"Hey! Just like the stepping stones!"

"Of course! You didn't think I was actually training you just for that flag pole challenge?"

"Well… it did seem like it at the time…"

"Ah, no worries. Now, just keep it slow."

"Really?"

"Afraid so, or else…" he sped up a little; thus, they both fell down, "Like that."

"Gotcha…" her face muffled through the dirt.

They kept walking a few times, but kept falling over a lot, too. Thunder Blast and Caballeron were watching from a distance and felt amused.

"Enough of the laughter." said Caballeron, "When can the boys and I go steal the Wings of Valor?"

"Just when they get enough ponies to know something is wrong…"

That came sooner than they thought when Soarin' said, "Whew! I think we got as far as we can. We'll try again tomorrow." He reached the chain to unlock it, but then… "Uh-oh…"

"What do you mean, uh-oh?"

"I can't get them off!"

"What?! Let me try!" She did, but the result was the same, "It's stuck!"

Both gave a face of panic and shouted, "Help! Help!"

The villains laughed to their plea.

"Here come the reinforcements… I suggest you get going now…"

"I thank you for your help, but what are you going to do now?"

"Oh, don't worry… I got plans…" he eyed Soarin' and Rainbow.

"Alright, boys. You know what to do…"

Twilight blasted on the chain, "It's no use! It has a spell-rebound spell!"

"Was it supposed to do that?" Rainbow asked Soarin'.

"No way! All of the chain cuffs are breakable!"

Spitfire took off her glasses and said, "Looks you two are chained together until we can get this thing off of you. I've already sent Fleetfoot to find any spare key to unlock that lock. In the meantime, I can't have you two sleeping in the same quarters; you're going to have to take some time off away from the academy."

"Will this affect my training, Ma'am?"

"No, since you're at the point of training with an officer and with both of you taking temporary leave, you'll be fine."

"Before we resort to that," said Twilight, "I do have some books with me that could still help me get the chain off. If I can't find a solution in ten minutes, then assume I got nothing and Rainbow and Soarin' would have to leave."

"A wise decision, princess. We'll wait right here." said Spitfire.

She rushed into the building with Flash right behind her. She was about to head to her room when she stopped in her tracks and quickly hid.

"What are you-" Flash started, but she pulled him into the hiding place and hushing him. He saw what she was looking at: a stallion with a golden skull as a cutie mark and three other stallions were moving out of Spitfire's office.

"Dr. Caballeron!" Twilight whispered in his ear.

"You know him?"

"Yes, but there's no time to explain. We need to see what he's up to!"

"But what about Rainbow Dash and Soarin'?"

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to help them out… If Dr. Caballeron is here, that can only mean trouble! Go back and tell them what happened and where I've gone."

"What! With all due respect, Your Highness, but I have to protect you. Where you go, I go. That's the rule and I intend to follow it through."

"Flash! This isn't the time!"

"Never the less, I stand by my decision… Besides… I'd never forgive myself if something awful happened to you… Please… Twilight… Let me come with you…"

She went pink and finally gave a nod before they followed Caballeron.


	3. Chapter 3

Spitfire checked her timer and said, "It's been past ten minutes. Looks like the princess's got nothing. So, we need to figure out where you two are going to go."

"How about Pony-Ville?" Rainbow suggested, "You can stay over at my place until the chain comes off."

"Is it on the ground?" Soarin' asks.

"Heck, no! I never like settling in an area where I'm stuck on the ground all the time."

"Except we may have to."

"Oh… yeah. In that case, we'll stay over at my friend Apple Jack's."

"Wait, was she the one who sold me my apple pie at the Gala?"

"That's her."

"I'm there!"

Moments later, they arranged for transportation in a flying chariot. Neither one was pleased with this.

"Well, this is embarrassing…" said Rainbow.

"Tell me about it. I never thought I would have to ride in a carriage designed for non-flyers."

When the chariot landed in the middle of Pony-Ville, they quickly got off.

"Thank you, gents." Soarin' says as the chariot-pullers started taking off again, "So, where to?"

"AJ lives over on the other side of Pony-Ville. She kind of has to with all those apple trees."

"Rainbow Dash!" a pink blur zipped in and gave her a near-choking hug, "You're back!"

"Yeah… Pinkie… I'm back… Now can you please let go?"

"Sorry, and," she gasped at the sight of Soarin', "A Wonderbolt, here?!"

"Yeah, you remember Soarin'."

"Oh, yeah, from Rainbow Falls! You saved him when he had an injured wing."

"And Soarin', this is my good friend Pinkie Pie."

"Nice to meet you." he extended his hoof.

She shook it excitedly, "The pleasure's mine!"

"Easy there, Pink! Say, have you seen AJ?"

"Apple Jack? I think she had a shipment of apples to deliver."

"When will she be back?"

"Sometime this afternoon, I'm sure."

"Well, I guess while we're waiting, want me to show you around?"

"That'd be awesome!"

"Ooh, ooh! Let me give the tour!" volunteered Pinkie, who then put out a tour guide cap and a megaphone, "On your left is Sugar Cube Corner, on the right…" she kept listing the names of the stores and buildings.

Caballeron and his troupe were far ahead of Twilight and Flash as they made it through jungle terrain. The princess and her guard acted as eyes in the sky, but it was hard to see with trees in the way.

"We're losing them!" she struggled to see where they were.

While they were looking down, they didn't see the pegasus in front of them and the latter didn't see them behind her. They crashed into each other and landed in the tree branches.

"Who did that?!" said Daring Do, looking up to see who knocked her off.

"Daring Do!" said Twilight, "Great to see you again!"

"Hey, aren't you one of Rainbow Dash's friends?"

"Wha-" Flash was shocked. Since Twilight was known as a princess, she nudged him from pointing it out.

"Yes, I am. And can I say that your last book was amazing?!"

"Sure you can, but I don't have time to listen. I've got to track down Caballeron!"

"We know; he's stolen something from the Wonderbolts Academy!"

"Huh, a bit bold for him to be stealing outside of the valley… It must be something so valuable that he just couldn't resist…"

"What can we do?" Flash asks.

"Follow his trail and find out his evil scheme." she found her hat and put it on.

In minutes, they were flying through the trees.

"And on the left is Carousal Boutique! Ooh! There's Rarity right now! Rarity!"

"Hello, Pinkie…and Rainbow! You're back already?!"

"Only for a good reason." she showed her that she and Soarin' were chained together.

"My goodness! What happened?"

"A training exercise gone wrong." said Soarin'.

"So we're staying here until something can be done."

"You poor dears! I wish I can help…"

"Not unless you got a key for this thing. Yeah, there's not much you can do." pointed Rainbow.

"But I know a way!" said Pinkie.

Moments later, they were near the Everfree Forest. Next to a big tree, Pinkie was tying a huge boulder to a rope that was flung over the tree branch. Rainbow and Soarin' gave scared and confused looks.

"Uh…" Rainbow nervously chuckled, "Pinkie, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No, it's not a _good _idea. It's the best idea!"

"Uh, can't argue with that." said Soarin'.

"Unfortunately… you don't know Pinkie Pie…" Rainbow cringed.

Pinkie hooked the rope to the chain, "Ready?"

"Wha-" Soarin' began to say until Pinkie said, "Release!" When she dropped the boulder, the blue pegasi went with it and landed back onto the ground.

They groaned in pain as Pinkie said, "Well, that didn't go as planned!"

Suddenly, a bunny hopped on Soarin'.

"Huh? Where did you come from, little guy?" he patted him.

Then, more bunnies came hopping in and stampeded on the grounded flyers.

A voice said, "They went this way, Fluttershy!" Then, Discord popped in front of them, "Whoa! What happened to you two?"

"Don't ask!" said Rainbow.

"Hey… Isn't that…?"

"Yes, Soarin'," she said in an exasperated tone, "this is Discord, the Spirit of Chaos."

"Ex-Spirit of Chaos." pointed Discord, "I use my powers only for the good of ponykind now."

"Speaking of good, think you can get this chain off?" she asked.

"Let's see…" he examined it, and then with a snap, it came off!

"Yeah!" they both said, but then the chain came back on.

"Hey!" she yelled towards Discord.

"It wasn't me!" he snapped again and the chain came off. Unfortunately, it came back on again. He repeated this numerous times, but it just wasn't working.

"It must be that stupid rebound spell that Twilight was talking about." said RD.

"That's impossible!" said Discord, "No spell can be that more powerful than I am!"

"What's more powerful?" Fluttershy fluttered in.

"Fluttershy, this chain won't come off!" said Rainbow.

"Oh, my. Have you tried…"

"Yes, I've tried! But that- thing…it won't budge!" he pretended to cry on her shoulder

"There, there…" she comforted him, "You tried your best…"

"Hey!" pointed RD, "We should be the ones crying!"

"Do you want to?" questioned Soarin'.

"Nah, that's way uncool."

Discord stopped with the fake cries and turned back to them, "So, looks like you two are stuck to that thing longer."

Rainbow sighed in defeat, "Okay, Pinkie. Let's keep moving."

"Alrighty!" she put back on her tour cap and pressed on.

Thunder Blast flapped to a temple where Ahuizotl tried to get past a wall.

"It won't budge!"

"Not without this!" he pulled out the real Wings of Valor, "Poor Caballeron… He actually thought he stole the real medal… when really, I stole this already a couple of years back!"

"So… the legends are true…"

"Indeed… the Wings of Valor was carved out of a special mirror made in the valley… Princess Celestia found it and had it made into a medal to the first Wonderbolts of Equestria as only the bravest of flyers are worthy of it. In a way, it was for protection of what the legends have said, which you know lay beyond this wall…"

Ahuizotl gave out an evil chuckle and was about to grab for it until Thunder Blast pulled it away, "You can have it… for a little favor…"

"I take orders from no pony!"

"Too bad. Looks like you're stuck out here with no way in except…" he moved the medal back and forth.

"Fine! What do you want?!"

"Two pegasi… They mean trouble for me… Find them and bring them to me…"

Ahuizotl took out his cat whistle and in no time, his huge cat army came.


	4. Chapter 4

"Since we're stuck like this as it is, wanna get some practice in?" he asked her.

"Sure! If the stupid thing won't come off, might as well make use of it and try that neat-o trick you were talking about."

"For a lift-off, we need higher ground."

"No problem; I know just the place."

They make it to a cliff outside of Pony-Ville.

"Whoa…" Soarin' looked down, "That's a pretty big drop." then, he remembered the cool mare next to him, "But not big enough for Wonderbolt material."

"Well, I could always find a higher cliff…" she acted smooth.

"No need; this will do. Okay, this will require precise timing. We have to keep close together. Our wings have to touch."

"Like this?" she put her right wing on his left wing.

"Yeah… exactly that…" they faced each other, then quickly turned away blushing. He cleared his throat, "Right, so let's move back." they did just that, "Now, lean down and get ready for take-off. We have to do it together."

"Right, together."

"Alright, get set… and… Now!" they ran together to the edge of the cliff and were about lift up until a certain being popped up.

"Whatcha doing?" gestured Discord.

"Ahhhh!" the blue pegasi screamed and screeched to a halt.

"Discord!" Rainbow shouted, "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Thought I give that chain another shot, but if you want to go hurling to your deaths…"

"Just never mind with trying; we're going to use it for an important trick." Rainbow said.

"May I suggest a better practice method, just so you get the feel of it? Plus, Fluttershy would never forgive me if something terrible had happened to you."

Dash sighed, "Fine… What is this method?"

He snapped and Soarin' and Rainbow had a hang guilder on them.

"There, now you can practice without getting hurt. You're welcome."

"You know…" said Soarin', "He does have a good point."

"Ready to lift-off?"

"As long as you are."

"Oh, I'm ready."

"Then let's…" they moved back and started running, "Go!" they glided off the cliff and moved through the air, seeing below them the sights of Pony-Ville.

"Boy, I sure missed this feel!" she said as the wind was blowing through her mane.

"Totally!" he caught a glimpse of her and couldn't help but stare.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all!"

They kept gliding along.

Daring Do was way ahead of Twilight and Flash.

Flash noticed the princess was having a hard time keeping up. He called out, "Uh, Miss Do?"

She shouted back, "Call me Daring!"

"Uh, Daring," he flapped next to her, "Prin- um, Twilight is having trouble. Think maybe we should slow down?"

"Not if we want to lose Caballeron!"

"You mean, that guy right there?" Flash pointed below to a campsite near a temple.

"That's him!" she shot straight down and ducked into bushes.

Twilight and Flash joined her. They overheard his conversation.

Caballeron played with the Wings of Valor, which he didn't know was the fake one, "Soon, this whole valley and its treasures will be mine."

One of his hench stallions asked, "But what was the point of grabbing a stupid medal?!"

"Oh, my simple hired hoof. This is no ordinary medal…" he recapped the story on what Thunder Blast had already told.

Twilight whispered, "Of course! How could I not remember reading about that!"

Daring Do shushed her and they continued listening in.

"Legend tells that with the Wings of Valor, it will be the key to a great treasure that lies in the temple!" he pointed.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" another stallion demanded.

"Well, first, I have to get rid of Daring Do, don't I? What's the point of having the greatest treasure of all time if she's just going to stop me?"

"You're darn right I will!" Do said under her breath and was about to leap out until Twilight stopped her.

"Wait! You need a plan!"

"Daring Do doesn't need plans. She does what she has to _do_!" she jumped out of the bushes.

Flash questioned, "Is she like this all the time?"

"Here and in her books."

"Hey, Caballeron! Looking for me?"

"Daring Do! Get her!"

She was surrounded by the stallions, but merely gave a smug grin. As the stallions aimed for her, she dodged them all, Daring Do-style. Suddenly, a rope wrapped around her and she was dragged down. She struggled to get free, but was overwhelmed by the other stallions.

Twilight breathed, "No…"

"Aw, such a shame… And now Daring Do, feast your eyes on the richest stallion in Equestria!" he placed the medal dramatically, and once the sphere was put in the wall, it did nothing. "What?! But that should have worked!" he forcefully took it back out, only to realize… "A fake?! It is a fake?!" he furiously threw it across the temple floor.

"Aw, poor Caballeron… Looks like you're doomed to be treasure-less for the rest of your life."

"Don't assume too much, Daring Do, for I have an idea of where the real medallion is… Boys, keep an eye on her while I go find a certain ex-colleague…"

Once he had gone, the stallions sat close to the bushes while keeping guard.

Twilight whispered for Daring to hear, "Don't worry, we'll get you out…"

"No." she whispered back.

"But how…?"

"It's up to you to stop Caballeron. This way, he'll be distracted knowing I'm here, giving you the chance to stop him from completing his plan…"

"Wait…" Flash said quietly, "Were you planning on getting captured all along?"

"You might say that… as long as you're here, might as well put it to good use… Let's just say I picked up a few pointers from your friend… Tell her I said 'hi' by the way."

"I'll do that." Twilight replied.

"Now go!" she murmured.

They did as she said and took to the sky again. Once they were in the clear, Flash questioned.

"Where to now?"

"Canterlot. I need to learn more about the Wings of Valor, and then… we stop Dr. Caballeron!"

"Maybe it's best I read the Daring Do books while you complete the research."

She giggled, "That would be a good idea…"

It was late afternoon when Rainbow and Soarin' landed safely next to Sugar Cube Corner. They took the guilder off.

"Well, that was a good practice session." he said.

"Yeah… it was…" she rubbed her front leg, "Well, I'm hungry, are you?"

"As a horse!"

There was silence between the two, blinking, until they burst out laughing.

She pointed out, "Let's go inside. Pinkie will have something made, I'm sure."

They walked through the door only to see… a full-blown scale party going on! There was music provided by Vinyl Scratch and flashing lights going on.

"Uh, does this usually happen?" he asked.

"No! This must be one of Pinkie's party days!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie cried out from across the room, "Join the party! Cheese is here!"

"Cheese? As in Cheese Sandwich?! Here?!"

"Yup! He's in the other room! I'll go get him!" she danced to the beat as she was moving along.

"Wow! No wonder it's crazy! Cheese is here!"

"Just, um… who is this Cheese Sandwich?" Soarin' inquired with worry.

"Oh, he's-" but before she could answer, the orange stallion made his appearance.

"Hi-ya, Rainbow Dash!"

"Cheese! Great to see you again!" she hoof-bumped with him, "Haven't seen you since my birth-versary, which by the way was still the best party I ever had!"

"I was hoping you would say that!"

Soarin' felt threatened at that moment of Rainbow hanging out with this stallion, which she obviously had a history with. He cleared his throat, pointing out he was still there.

"Oh, hey, Cheese, do you know Soarin'?"

"Not Soarin' of the Wonderbolts, Soarin'?!"

"That's me!"

"Oh, gee! This is an honor!" he shook his hoof excitedly.

Being moved by the hoof shake, he vibrated, "Than… Thank… Thanks!"

Rainbow explained, "Yeah, Cheese helped me with my birthday and my anniversary of arriving in Pony-Ville. Well, him and Pinkie; it couldn't be done without the both of them."

Cheese sighed, "Yeah… she was super awesome…" he made googly eyes.

"Wait…" Soarin' observed, "So you and Rainbow don't have…"

Dash gasped, "No way! Sure, this guy's fun and all, but he's not really my type. Huh, no offense, Cheese."

"None taken! In fact, one of the reasons I'm back is because I want to ask Pinkie out on a date…"

"Then go get her, tiger!" Rainbow egged him on.

"You bet!" he said in a singsong tone, "Oh, Pinkie!" he went to her.

"Wow… I thought…" he rubbed his neck.

"Pssh, no biggie. I only hang around stallions if they're cool enough, like you are."

"That's… pretty awesome for you to say…"

They gazed into each other's eyes unaware of a small white cat prowling around and quickly left out an open window. It went straight to the Everfree Forest where it met with its boss.

"Well?" Ahuizotl demanded.

The cat merely pointed to town.

"Excellent… We got them…" he motioned his army forward.


End file.
